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 Vol. 1, No. 6: May 4, 2005
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by David Biello
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol is supposed to allow developed countries to help subsidize sustainable development, such as energy from renewable resources, in their less developed counterparts. In exchange, the developed countries get credits that can be used towards meeting their Kyoto greenhouse gas reduction commitment. It seems simple, virtuous and perhaps even elegant but, as the Ecosystem Marketplace discovers, the process of getting such a global system up and running has been far from smooth.
by Deborah Fleischer
If you talk to some environmentalists about wetland mitigation banks, passions run high. Environmentalists are not seeing the benefits they have been promised by banking, and point instead to a litany of problems. In this piece, the Ecosystem Marketplace talks to the environmental community about their concerns with mitigation banks. In a future article we will talk to wetland mitigation bankers about their responses to these concerns.
by Robin Meadows
The 8th National Mitigation & Conservation Banking Conference included sessions on "What a developer considers" and "A buyer's perspective – why should I buy credits from you?" by Florida wetland mitigation banking experts. New approaches to wetland mitigation banking at the state and federal level are already impacting mitigation banks throughout the United States. In the midst of these changes, the Ecosystem Marketplace gets a look at the experts' take on what buyers want and why it matters.
by Ricardo Bayon
Established emissions trading markets such as the US market in sulfur dioxide tend to generate large futures markets. On April 22, 2005, Europe saw trading in the first exchange-based carbon futures market linked to the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The Ecosystem Marketplace takes a look at what happened.
by Adam Ferguson
The Hunter River Valley has long been one of Australia's most productive regions -- supporting numerous coal mines, huge electricity generators, and much of the country's agriculture. In the 1990s, the varied business owners who depend on the Hunter River for their livelihood came into conflict with one another when industrial discharges into the river made it too salty for fish and farms alike. By going with the river's flow and against the grain of traditional command-and-control conservation, the Hunter River Valley came up with a unique market-based approach to solving the problem in 1995. A decade on, the Ecosystem Marketplace considers what has made the Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme (HRSTS) a success.
by Eric Rosenbaum
Institutional investors, aggressive in speaking up about the importance of combating climate change as a social goal, have yet to put their money into the carbon market. These large pension funds, insurers, and other large institutions have been calling on global corporations to disclose their carbon risk, and are increasingly investing in private equity funds related to clean energy and environmental technology. But the carbon markets have yet to feel their presence. The Ecosystem Marketplace investigates whether the lack of investment is merely a function of the market's infancy, or whether it signals a more fundamental problem in attracting institutional dollars.
by Jeremy Smerd
In February, U.S. Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman introduced a bill to create a nation-wide cap-and-trade market to reduce Greenhouse Gases. The bill -- the Climate Stewardship Act of 2005 -- was identical to the Climate Stewardship Act that was roundly defeated in 2003. Given a rightward shift in Congress in the last two years, the McCain-Lieberman bill will likely be vanquished again. Nonetheless, proponents of a cap-and-trade system see progress in the midst of defeat. The Ecosystem Marketplace investigates their reasons for optimism.
by Alice Kenny
As a human rights lawyer and long-time political activist, Kadar Asmal might not have seemed the likeliest choice for the post of South Africa's Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry after the fall of apartheid in 1994. Mandela's selection nonetheless proved prescient. By recognizing the connections between healthy people, healthy ecosystems and a healthy economy, Asmal has not only revolutionized water policy in South Africa, but also throughout the world. The Ecosystem Marketplace takes a look at Asmal's revolutionary approach and lasting legacy in the field of ecosystem services.
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